The FOGO service asks you to collect food and garden waste and keep it separate from other waste and recycling. FOGO waste is being transformed into valuable compost at Lockhart’s composting facility. Compost will be used in local parks, gardens and community projects across the Shire.
Here are some examples of items you can and can’t put in your bins:
Every year, we dump an estimated 125 tonnes of organic waste into landfill. Our landfill capacity gets less and less each year; if we do nothing, it will be full by 2030. Leaving organic matter to rot in landfill creates unwanted green-house gasses and negatively impacts our environment. By composting this material instead, we will improve our environmental footprint, store valuable soil carbon, generate useful compost to be used in landscaping/garden projects across our Shire and extend our landfill capacity.
The new FOGO bin service is FREE – we are adding new FOGO bins, kitchen caddies and liners to existing waste services at no additional cost to rate payers with support from NSW government funding. Your enclosed kitchen caddy can be used without liners – simply add some paper towel or fold some old newspaper to save using liners. Replacement caddy liners (1 roll per year) will be available for the first 3 years following FOGO launch for households who want to use them.
Well done! Composting and diverting food scraps is a great way to reduce landfill, sterilise weeds and transform garden waste. You can still use the new FOGO service to dispose of items that generally can’t be composted at home or put in your worm farm; such as meats, fish, dairy, cooked meals, some sticks, citrus and onions.
If used correctly, your kitchen caddy and FOGO bin should not smell or be yucky. Remember to empty your kitchen caddy into your FOGO bin every two or three days and keep the lid closed, when you are not using it. You can also reduce odour by putting your FOGO bin out for weekly kerbside collection even it is not full.
Whilst the caddy can be used without a liner, we understand that most people will use it with a liner and that’s why we are providing liners for your convenience.
If you live or operate a business inside our current waste collection service area, then you are eligible for the new service.
You do not need to ring Council to order a FOGO bin. You will receive a FOGO bin, caddy and liners in time for the first collection.
Here’s what to do:
• Tuesday 31st March put your general waste bin on the kerbside for normal Wednesday morning collection.
• Wednesday 1 April your bin will be emptied and a new FOGO pack added. Now you will have 3 bins:
1 x FOGO bin, kitchen caddy and liners
1 x Recycling bin,
1 x General waste bin.
• Thursday 2 April check your FOGO calendar for fortnightly collection of recycling and general waste.
If you live outside our current waste collection areas, unfortunately you may not be eligible for the new FOGO service. Council currently provides free tip vouchers for those outside our waste collection areas. We are establishing our own FOGO compost processing facility right here in Lockhart and we are exploring options to enable non-eligible residents to bring compliant FOGO materials to the new processing site using your free tip vouchers.
Please follow the Lockhart community Facebook page for more updates or contact Council for further information. We review our waste collection services annually and your feedback will be considered in accordance with our operational plan.
